Intelaaq: A remarkable prospect for young Bahraini professionals
The Tamkeen Intelaaq programme aims to provide flexible training opportunities to help Bahrainis develop their skills and progress in their careers. The programme consists of a 15-week course during which business university students apply their theoretical and academic knowledge in an actual work environment by providing consultancy services to a number of major companies in Bahrain.
As part of Tamkeen’s efforts to provide Bahrainis with the necessary skills, training and development, the Intelaaq student business consultancy programme connects students with corporations for semester-long engagements. Designed to bridge educational institutions with corporate and professional environments, Intelaaq teaches students the necessary practical skills to facilitate an easier transition to the professional world. Through Intelaaq’s network of professionals, learning will be at the forefront of the initiative, in order to allow participants insight on how to become the employees of choice.
The programme was first introduced in November 2011 through the support and collaboration of the Economic Development Board, Mena Centre for Investment, Etijah Coaching and Consulting Services, and MBA Consultant Network.
Back in 2013 Intelaaq was relaunched under the sponsorship and support of Tamkeen. This edition of the programme saw the mass participation of students from Bahrain Polytechnic, University of Bahrain, Kingdom University, Ahlia University and the Arab Open University.
Under the new version of the programme, the Tamkeen-Intelaaq Student Consultancy programme 2015/2016 was launched. A unique 12-week programme that aims to engage the best and brightest students from educational institutions across Bahrain to work within a team on a well-defined project for local Bahraini companies.
Overall, 17 students were divided into teams of four or five, and were assigned projects at four local companies encompassing several sectors which included Obai & Hill, the Yacht Club, Bahrain Flour Mills, and Abdulrahman Kanoo International School, who gave the students the opportunity to practice and apply their management consultancy knowledge in real on-going business cases.
The Programme aims to provide participating students with three main objectives:
- Employability
- Application
- Discovery
Employability is presented through increasing their exposure to potential job opportunities as well as developing key soft skills, such as communication and teamwork. Intelaaq promises participants with Application which is delivered by allowing them to apply theoretical classroom knowledge in a practical environment, in addition to building their professional portfolio while still studying. Whereas Discovery aspect is found in the exploration of Business Consulting as a profession at a young age in addition to the development of positive work ethics.
Through its “Semester Long Engagements”, Intelaaq provides its participants Business Consulting projects across different areas of business including (Management, Marketing, Accounting, Finance, Strategy, Operations, etc), Graphic Design, Media, and Communication. It targets the development of soft and hard skills by means of communication, presentation development, financial modeling, strategic frameworks, and project management which are all encompassed within the consulting projects. Mentoring is presented by enlisting members of the business community to listen and assist in students' professional and personal development. Additionally, Guest Speaking Seminars are a two-way communication avenue for students to learn and study experiences and decisions from seasoned prominent business leaders.
At the end of the programme, the students will obtain:
- A certificate of participation in the programme from Intelaaq.
- A letter from the business client stating the work that has been done by the student throughout the project.
- Opportunities for full time employment or an internship.
- Unique networking opportunities with business leaders in Bahrain.
Highlights (events)
Through formal training and mentorship sessions by Intelaaq Partners, the student consultants study the current status of the project client in the Bahraini market. They then develop a complete understanding of the client’s position and start constructing their recommendations following thorough research. After the completion of the recommendations stage, the team has to build a case and convince the client to utlise their propositions. Intelaaq helps young professionals to become familiar with consulting and delivering core values to the client through their recommendations and proposed solutions in light of all risk factors and competition in the market.
In an effort to connect students with local businesses and prepare them for the work environment, a workshop has been organised in partnership with the Bahrain Development Bank entitled “Innovation”.
The event welcomed both current Intelaaq student consultants and Intelaaq alumni. A turnout of Bahrain’s finest Business, Media, Graphic Design, and Communication recent graduates and undergraduates attended the workshop.
The student consultants engaged in discussions with the BDB speakers, which ranged from the precise definition of the discussion topic all the way to how-to-utilise innovation in your career while showcasing examples of innovative businesses.
The main purpose of the workshop was to help the student consultants become innovative in the utilisation of information, imagination and to take initiative in deriving different values from resources, including all processes by which new ideas are generated and converted into useful products. At its core, Tamkeen’s Student Business Consultancy programme “Intelaaq” aims to build bridges between the world of academia and the corporate world, thereby, equipping participants with work-ready competencies in order to enable Bahraini students to understand the job market and support them in the next steps of their professional journey. “Intelaaq” is a 3-month student business consultancy programme that also aims to transition students’ knowledge into practical application. Programme eligibility requires that students are either in their third or fourth year of undergraduate studies and it is open for recent university graduates.